


a game of lie and seek

by kunclipse (princemin)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Infidelity, M/M, Morally Ambiguous Character, Secret Identity, Secret Relationship, kind of, mentioned minor character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:15:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29356308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princemin/pseuds/kunclipse
Summary: The rules of their affair were simple: no names, no removing their masks, no information that could reveal their identities, and lastly, deception was a game that they loved to play.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun
Comments: 22
Kudos: 135
Collections: Challenge #5 — I heard a secret..





	a game of lie and seek

**Author's Note:**

> I have to say I've never written anything like this before. Had a lot of fun though!  
> Here's some [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2-r2muILus) to set the mood if you're into that.

The silver base of the mask shone in the light of the chandelier. Ten sat upon his bed and traced his fingers over the small pieces of emerald embedded in a crescent moon around the left eyehole. _Tonight_ , he thought to himself as his mind replayed a memory of fervent lips pressed against his own, hot and wanting, _tonight I’ll ask him_.

There was a knock to his bedroom door that made him flinch. He scrambled to turn around and slip the mask beneath one of the pillows on the bed before standing up and clearing his throat just as the door opened and his husband stepped in. 

“What is it?” Ten asked the man, unable to hold himself back from snapping. They had different bedrooms on different ends of the same hallway for a good reason. Which was to avoid each other as much as possible.

His husband didn’t seem bothered by the hostility, just shrugged one of his shoulders before telling him, “I won’t be at dinner tonight. I have business in the city and I might not be back until tomorrow afternoon.”

“That’s fine,” Ten replied, voice flat. He didn’t care and his husband knew it because he didn’t care either. This was just courtesy. “I was planning on visiting Sicheng, anyway.”

“Hm. I’ll tell the kitchens as I go.” 

He left, the door clicking shut behind him.

Six months of marriage and Ten could barely remember the sound of his husband's voice. They had touched each other exactly once, during the wedding ceremony when it was unavoidable. It was good. Ten preferred it that way. He had no interest in getting to know the man he was stuck with until both of their fathers died or one of them lost their mind and killed the other. Ten still wasn’t sure which was more likely to happen first.

There was a bottle of arsenic in a wooden box beneath his bed. He’d found it in his mother’s room after she passed and left most of her belongings to him and his sister. He didn’t have any plans on using it, not yet at least. Ten hated to be married to his husband, but he could not blame the man for that. Neither of them had wanted this. So, as long as his husband gave no reason for it, the bottle of arsenic would stay where it had been since Ten moved in. 

_Tonight_ , Ten thought to himself again, sweet whispers filling his ears, _Tonight I’ll tell him I love him._

♠

Ten was never supposed to get married. The idea of being tied to someone for the rest of his life had brought him nausea ever since he learned what it meant, to marry someone. It meant tense and silent dinners, with only the sound of silver cutlery and clearing of throats to fill the room. It meant his mother’s forlorn stares out of the windows and her long walks into the gardens, the furthest place from her husband she could get to. It meant the exchanged letters between his father and his business acquaintance, where they promised to wed their oldest children once they were of appropriate ages. 

No, Ten was never supposed to marry. He had lived most of his life thinking he would be free from such a burden. Marriage was a cage and his wings were far too wide and wild to fit such a place. He was not someone to be tamed. 

But then his older sister got sick, two years after their mother had passed from the same illness. It didn’t take long for her to succumb to it as well. The day after her funeral, Ten had been on his way to the gardens to light two candles by the pond when his father stopped him in the back hall and told him, “You have no choice.” 

♠

Ten met the man in the first masquerade ball he ever joined, a week before he was forced to marry his husband. It had been Sicheng’s idea for him to go, and his friend had been the one to get him an invitation as well. “Go and enjoy all this freedom you have while you still can,” he’d told Ten when he handed him the letter.

Almost as soon as Ten made it to the ballroom and acquired himself a glass of champagne, there was an announcement. Turned out that the masquerade was a celebration of an engagement between the hosts. All around the room, people raised their glasses and cheered. Ten copied the motion to not stand out of the masses, but couldn’t help the quiet scoff that fell from his lips. 

“Not keen on marriage, I take it?” A low voice came behind his left shoulder.

Ten whipped his head around to see a man with a sleek black mask covering the upper half of his face. A golden stripe ran through the middle of it, accentuating the moulded bridge of his nose. Ten felt his curiosity stretch like a lazy cat beneath a patch of midday sunlight.

“No, I’m not,” he said simply, bringing the rim of his glass to his lips and taking a sip as he let his eyes trail over the other’s dark — clearly well-tailored — suit. His ring finger twitched against the hilt of the champagne glass, dreading the thought of not being bare. “It’s a meaningless affair. If you think you really want to be with someone for the rest of your life, just attempt to do it then. What use is there to imprison each other like that? It makes it more difficult to leave when the time comes.” _And it will come_ , he held himself back from adding, though it still echoed in the following silence.

The man’s lips twitched up into a small smirk before he nodded. “Hm. Maybe that’s the thing. People are scared that their feelings won’t last if they don’t put them on paper and stick a ring on each other.” A shrug. Ten licked his lips. “Might as well use handcuffs, it’s pretty much the same thing. Although, that is if the marriage is even based on feelings, to begin with. Arranged marriages are just as ridiculous, in my opinion. If you want to keep the wealth in the community, just make a business deal like usual.”

Ten didn’t hold back his delighted grin. “You might just be the most sensible person I’ve ever met.”

“Likewise.”

♠

The rules of their affair were simple: no names, no removing their masks, no information that could reveal their identities, and lastly, deception was a game that they loved to play.

There was no knowing which of the words they said to each other were truth or a lie, or a mix of both. Ten talked about days he had spent with his mother in the city which never happened but he wished they had. The other man told him about the close relationship between his own mother and one of their maids. Ten was quite confident that it was a truth, but then again his companion was an extremely skilled liar, exhilaratingly so. 

They met once or twice a week, whenever there was a masquerade in the city or its vicinity. Conversations turned to fleeting touches turned to stolen kisses turned to passion so intense that Ten started to forget they were playing a game, though his lover seemed to be just the same. There was something intoxicating about the fact that Ten had no idea of the colour of the other man’s eyes or the shape of his brows, yet he could map out the seam of his lips with his tongue in his sleep.

Ten loved it. He loved being seen and spoken to and touched without truly being known. Without having to give away something of himself that he wouldn’t be able to take back. He loved being full of curiosity and never-ending questions when it came to his lover. Ten didn’t know if the other had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth or if he was a snob, though he believed it was likely the former. The man’s attire was always tailored perfectly and the trail of gold that ran through the middle of his mask was just as authentic as the emeralds on Ten’s own. 

He didn’t know which one of them was older and which one was younger, though the difference likely wasn’t much. He didn’t know whether he was the man’s first lover or not. The other’s skills suggested that he wasn’t, but the way his hands often trembled hinted otherwise. 

Sometimes Ten wondered if his lover was more wealthy than his husband, though his husband came from centuries-old money which would have been hard to beat. Sometimes he wondered if they knew each other, in the world beyond masks and lies and late champagne nights.

♠

  
  


Two months into their little game, they had taken to slipping away from the main party as soon as possible to spend time just by themselves. The greenhouse they had found on this occasion was painted orange and red in the light of the setting sun. Ten had a pleasant buzz beneath his skin, his head pillowed on his lover’s lap where they lounged upon a bench by the fountain in the middle of the room.

“Tell me something surprising,” the other man murmured, not moving a muscle to push Ten’s fingers away from where they were toying with the top button of his dress shirt.

Ten had never let himself get this close to being drunk. If he had drunk a flute or two less, he would have come up with an elaborate and interesting false story. But because he had been reckless he didn’t think and a giggle bubbled out of his throat before he grinned. “What if I told you I was married?”

His lover scoffed but didn’t stop running his hand through Ten’s hair. “You would never let that happen to yourself.”

Having to swallow against a sharp and cold ache piercing through his chest and throat, Ten’s eyes stung. Thankful for the mask that covered most of his face, he pulled his lips up to a convincing smirk. “True.” 

_False._

He should have found a way to get out of it. He should have run away if that was the only option. Now he was stuck in a loop of boredom and only a few nights a month when he truly felt alive. He wished he could talk to his mother or his sister.

Why didn’t he do something? Why did he let this happen to himself?

His father’s gruff voice echoed in his head, _‘You have no choice’_.

♠

It had been five months of them playing around with each other when Ten slipped away from the main party in search of his lover and found him in a small, dim room, sitting in front of a grand piano. He slowed his steps and held his breath to not alert his own arrival, eager to let his curiosity to lap up anything that the man didn’t knowingly give up about himself, truth or lie.

It seemed like Ten had succeeded in being discreet because his lover showed no signs of noticing him as he raised his hands and began to play a slow, aching melody. Ten’s next inhale stuttered through his throat. He didn’t know it was possible for someone to touch an instrument so gently and play something that held more faith than a prayer.

Ten’s husband owned a piano, but he had never heard him play nor did he think the man would agree to do so for him if he asked. Still, he couldn’t help but think that his lover must be far more talented than his husband could ever be. What he played was simply the most beautiful piece of music Ten had ever heard. Everything else had no choice but to bend down and pale in comparison.

He didn’t notice that he had walked closer until the song ended and the other man seemed to come out of a trance before turning his head towards Ten who froze where he stood. “I didn’t hear you coming,” he said quietly, almost shyly.

Ten had to swallow before he remembered how to use his vocal cords. “I didn’t want you to,” he answered, keeping his voice just as low. He stepped closer until he could lean against the side of the piano and wipe a finger over its dusty surface. “That piece you played, I’ve never heard it before. What’s it called?”

The following silence was too long. Ten knew that he would be hearing the truth. “I don’t know,” his lover answered. “I haven’t named it yet.”

Feeling like a cat that just got its favourite treat served on a golden platter, Ten reached out to smooth a hand down the other man’s chest. “You should name it after me.” He would have winked if there had been any point in doing so.

A chuckle. “ _Liar_ isn’t a very fitting name for it, I’m afraid.”

Ten laughed, shaking his head in agreement. “You’re right. But how about _A game of lie and seek_?”

His lover smiled in that specific way that made Ten’s throat go dry. “Sounds perfect.”

♠

Ten knew that his concept of love was different from that of other people’s. To him, love was not something everlasting and all-encompassing. It was a fleeting and wild thing, a burn that you were supposed to enjoy. He wasn’t afraid to face it. Feelings were a nuisance because he couldn’t control them, but he would never let them dictate his every thought and decision. 

He was going to tell his lover that he loved him, and it would be up to the other man what he decided to do with the information if he were to believe it in the first place. Ten wouldn’t mind if he deemed it as a lie, as long as they could keep having fun and he could keep forgetting about his dull, boring life whenever times like these permitted it.

His lover’s breath was hot against the shell of his ear as they danced along to the haunting song of waltz that filled the room to its brim, making it hard to take full lungfuls of air. A small shiver ran down Ten’s spine. He chose to believe it was from anticipation. “I want to tell you something,” he whispered into the crook of the other man’s neck.

The hand that was pressed against his upper back slid down to his waist and squeezed gently. Ten’s lips curled up without him even noticing. “What is it?” The other questioned, soft lips brushing against his skin.

Ten shook his head just slightly. “Not here. Let’s slip away somewhere else.”

They had been to this particular mansion several times for previous masquerades. It was one of Ten’s favourites. 

There was a hum before a whisper was pressed into the skin below Ten’s ear. “The greenhouse?”

It was the middle of winter, but Ten didn’t mind the frosty bite in the air as they trekked through the thin trail that led to the old, overgrown building. The hand in his kept him warm and Ten felt greedier than ever, could taste it like salted caramel on his tongue.

Once they were inside, Ten paused by the door as it closed behind him. He watched as his lover walked further into the room before pausing with his back still turned on him as he asked, “What did you want to tell me?”

Ten was not going to be a slave to his feelings, nor would he be scared of them. He was going to enjoy this burn before leaving its ashes behind. “I love you,” he confessed, steady and clear. The room echoed the words.

A sharp intake of breath. The other man’s fingers twitched by his sides. “Are you telling the truth?”

Oh, what a lovely game they had. Ten felt giddy and he knew it bled into his voice. “What do you think?”

His lover shrugged before turning around. Ten couldn’t see his eyes but felt his gaze like a physical touch anyway. “It doesn’t matter, does it?” He paused before declaring, “I love you as well.”

A slow grin spread over Ten’s face. At this moment, he felt both like the predator and the prey. Folding his hands behind his back, he tilted his head to the side as he watched the other man cross his arms over his chest. “I want to break some rules, I’m getting bored with them.”

The quiet scoff his lover let out was fond, Ten was quite sure of it. “Of course you are.”

“Mmn. Show me your face?”

There was hesitance in the twitch of the other man’s lips, but his voice was nothing but confident when he answered, “Only if you let me see yours in turn.”

“Of course, it’s only fair. On the count of three?”

A nod. They both raised their hands to the backs of their heads, ready to pull open the ribbons that held their masks in place. Ten’s heart was beating so fast that it left him dizzy. He was drunk with excitement. They counted together and as soon as Ten managed to open the knot he’d previously tied, he pulled his mask from his face and looked across the room. 

A familiar face stared back, eyes wide and lips parted from shock.

Oh.

_Oh._

**Oh.**

It was fitting for him, wasn’t it? Escaping from his stuffy husband to spend his nights in masquerade balls, covered in a web of secrets and feeling drawn to a man who lied just as much as he did. It was fitting, for the man Ten had fallen in love with to be the man he had already begrudgingly married.

They both did love their secrets.

“Kun.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcome! Feed my void of a brain with your thoughts, no matter how big or small <3
> 
> And with this final message, I will leave you: Kun sexy.


End file.
